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Actor James Woods returned with wife Sara to the couple’s fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Friday, discovering that their home survived the massive fire that started Tuesday and destroyed many of the homes, businesses, and schools in the Los Angeles suburb, including the homes of their neighbors. Like many people who fled their homes during the flash fire, Woods assumed his home was destroyed, given that large flames were literally at his backyard.
Our deck three minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/KpZDELpN8L
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 7, 2025
The view from one of our security cameras pic.twitter.com/hcbwsAYJvG
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 7, 2025
Woods posted late Tuesday night he was notified on his iPhone that the smoke detectors had gone off at his home:
All the smoke detectors are going off in our house and transmitting to our iPhones.
I couldn’t believe our lovely little home in the hills held on this long. It feels like losing a loved one.
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 8, 2025
Woods was stunned when he returned home on Friday. “A miracle has happened,” Woods posted upon finding his house survived, though he reported the home suffered “smoke and other damage” but is amazingly still “standing” and “intact.”
Woods also told the story of the rescue of an elderly neighbor who was abandoned by a caregiver.
Parts of the Pacific Palisades look like the firebombed cities of World War II, with photos and videos showing block after block of rubble and smoldering ashes from the hills to the Pacific Ocean.
One of the first aerial images of the fire damage was posted Wednesday of a drone photo taken by Kit Karzen:
New drone shot from Pacific Palisades shows entire blocks of homes literally burned to the ground. The Palisades Fire alone could become the “costliest” fire in U.S. history.
Courtesy of @KitKarzen pic.twitter.com/L5z7mvdLTt
— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) January 8, 2025
Drone video by Matthew Heller taken Thursday:
Multiple wind-driven wildfires have destroyed more than 10,000 buildings in the Los Angeles area, leaving behind scenes that can best be described as apocalyptic.
Drone video shows the aftermath in the Pacific Palisades area, which was destroyed by the #PalisadesFire. pic.twitter.com/IMevZ4Jj65
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) January 10, 2025
Woods posted photos and video from his neighborhood Friday. His first post was about the rescue of the elderly father of a neighbor:
“The man on the left, Robert Trinkkeller, is a hero. By the grace of God he stayed behind when the evacuation order was given. When I called the man on the right, our neighbor, in Boston to be sure his 94 year-old father had been evacuated, he was devastated that a replacement caregiver had left his father behind.
“Sara and I couldn’t get back up through police barricades, so I called Robert and managed to get him. By the time he got to the elderly father’s house, the house next store was ablaze. I had gotten through to the Fire Services finally, and they met Robert who guided them to the father. His son flew out immediately and today all three of us and Sara put out the fires on our hillside with buckets of pool water. If you are blessed to have such wonderful neighbors, you are luckier than you know.”
The man on the left, Robert Trinkkeller, is a hero. By the grace of God he stayed behind when the evacuation order was given. When I called the man on the right, our neighbor, in Boston to be sure his 94 year-old father had been evacuated, he was devastated that a replacement… pic.twitter.com/CeQBiLhCiv
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 10, 2025
Video posted by Woods showing one side of his street “untouched” by the fire and the other destroyed, “One side untouched, the other utter destruction. While we rejoice to find our house intact, in the midst of a hellscape like this, you can only think of your neighbors. I was so certain our house was gone a day ago, but the fickle finger of fate decided otherwise.”
One side untouched, the other utter destruction. While we rejoice to find our house intact, in the midst of a hellscape like this, you can only think of your neighbors. I was so certain our house was gone a day ago, but the fickle finger of fate decided otherwise. pic.twitter.com/dbL0ECvtSa
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 10, 2025
Woods posted video looking down the hill from his back deck, showing the destruction. The video also shows Sara Woods and a neighbor dowsing small fires still burning on the property, “A miracle has happened. We managed to get to our property and our home, that we were told is gone forever, is still standing. In this hellish landscape “standing” is relative, but smoke and other damage is not like the utter destruction around us. The view from our deck area:”
A miracle has happened. We managed to get to our property and our home, that we were told is gone forever, is still standing. In this hellish landscape “standing” is relative, but smoke and other damage is not like the utter destruction around us. The view from our deck area: pic.twitter.com/JZU2kTJC52
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 10, 2025
Woods is promoting a petition calling on Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) to resign over her handling of the Los Angeles area fires this week:
Petition · Demand the Immediate Resignation of Mayor Karen Bass – Los Angeles, United States · https://t.co/OE7YKlXuna https://t.co/M8U9mtFnAI
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 10, 2025